Post by Rangers GM (Mike) on May 14, 2012 18:37:16 GMT -5
| Team | Rank (LW) | Record | Trending | Comments | |
 | Indians | 1 (1) | 5-0 | - | The team with the best record in the league continues to impress. It was a close matchup this week, but Lynn's QS and SBs from Encarnacion and Lawrie ensured they would keep their perfect record. If they keep performing like they are, there's no telling when they'll lose their first game. |
 | Braves | 2 (2) | 4-0-1 | - | The Braves narrowly escaped their matchup this week and managed to avoid getting their first loss of the year. It was a rare off week for the Braves as their pitching struggled (Saunders was the main culprit) and their offense didn't show any power. They'll be fine though, and they'll have to be as they have a difficult matchup against the Nats. |
 | Cubs | 3 (4) | 4-1 |  | The Cubs have been solid all year and continued that trend as they got their 4th win of the year in a close matchup. Having Braun for the whole season has obviously been great news for them as he has been the best player on one of the top offenses in the league. The only weaknesses have been Gallardo, Bell, and Marmol, but they are all talented enough to figure things out. |
[tr] | Tigers | 4 (5) | 3-2 | | The Tigers got a little lucky this week, barely pulling out the victory against one of the weaker teams of the league. Losing V-mart has unsurprisingly hurt the team, but the offense has still been solid. The pitching has been average though and needs to be better in order to compensate for any slow weeks by the offense. |
[tr] | Rangers | 5 (6) | 4-1 | | The top offense in the league continues to be on a roll. Hamilton had a ridiculous week and helped the team dominate the offensive categories. Being that the offense is so strong, if they can continue to get pretty good pitching this team will be hard to stop. |
 | Giants | 6 (7) | 4-1 | | The Giants are on fire right now, winning 4 matchups in a row. It's no surprise to see Cain and Bumgarner dominating, but the offense has been stronger than most expected with Beltran, Granderson, and Dunn already in midseason form. This team is a force to be reckoned with. |
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[/td][td]It was a tough loss to take for the Red Sox as they battled back from a 12-2 deficit to almost squeak out the win on the last day. The injuries to Crawford and Ellsbury have really hurt the team and led to their inconsistencies so far. Once the team gets healthy and their pitching stars regain their form the team will be fine.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Nationals[/td][td]8 (8)[/td][td]3-2[/td][td]-[/td][td]It's safe to say the Nationals were not expecting to be the Marlins first W of the year. Their pitching has been good all year, but it was the offense that failed them. Pujols, Zimmerman, and Harper are going to need to produce if the Nats are going to win games.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Reds[/td][td]9 (9)[/td][td]1-4[/td][td]-[/td][td]It was a tough loss for the Reds as it looked like they were going to finally end their 3 game losing streak, but they ended up falling just short. Outside of a few guys, this team hasn't played well besides the first week. If they want any chance of turning things around they'll have to start getting wins against the weaker teams in the league and their pitching is going to have to greatly improve.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Rays[/b][/td][td]10 (10)[/td][td]1-4[/td][td]-[/td][td]A team many expected to easily make the playoffs has really struggled to start off the year. The offense has been okay, but the pitching has been pretty terrible ranking near the bottom of the league in most of the categories. If Ubaldo and their relievers don't turn it around, the Rays may lose any chance they have of making the playoffs.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Astros[/td][td]11 (11)[/td][td]2-3[/td][td]-[/td][td]The Astros didn't have much of a chance being stuck facing the Rangers and the red-hot Hamilton. They've actually been playing pretty well this year, but they've been stuck facing tough competition thus far. Once division play ends, it wouldn't be suprising to see them roll off a few wins in a row and make a run at the wild card.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Phillies[/td][td]12 (12)[/td][td]1-3-1[/td][td]-[/td][td]It may not have been a win, but at least they were able to play well against a top team in the league and almost pull out the victory. When your staff has studs like Halladay and Hamels it's pretty much a given that you're going to pitch well. With that in mind though, it will be up to the offense to decide whether or not the Phillies can make the playoffs this year.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Royals[/td][td]13 (15)[/td][td]1-4[/td][td][/td][td]Led by David Wright, the Royals were able to get their first W of the year. As has been the story for most of the season, the pitching continues to struggle. If they want a chance to make the playoffs this year, the Royals will need Masterson to regain his form from last year and the relievers to improve upon their terrible numbers so far.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Marlins[/td][td]14 (16)[/td][td]1-4[/td][td][/td][td]Finally. The Marlins were able to get their first win of the season and it was against a quality opponent too. They may have started off slow, but the past two weeks (since the team got a new GM) the Marlins have had two impressive showings in a row. If they continue to improve, they still have a shot at the playoffs.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Mariners[/td][td]15 (13)[/td][td]1-4[/td][td][/td][td]It was a tough week for the Mariners as they played well and lost a heart breaker to the Tigers. The pitching has been good all year so if the team can continue to get some offense, they'll have a chance to win some games and possibly get a playoff berth.[/td][/tr][tr][td]
[/td][td]Rockies[/td][td]16 (14)[/td][td]1-4[/td][td][/td][td]The Rockies' pitching staff looked pretty solid this week, led by the rejuvenated Carlos Zambrano. However, their offense struggled mightily with only one player hitting over .300 during the week. CarGo and Teixeira are going to have to start hitting again if they want to have a chance to make the playoffs. [/td][/tr][/table]